VM Radio Launch & Availability Information, Plus The New Tuned Episode!!

Today's post is very much focused on recent postings and launches from one major local company, but all of it is of note for local rock fans, including the contents of the newest episode of Tuned and the formal launch of a new online radio network, so here's what you need to know!

SooToday parent company Village Media officially launched all 5 feeds of their new internet radio network VM Radio on Thursday! After a successful pilot launch earlier this week, the full website and player are up along with each station's full current rotation, with the launch and related notes outlined in this SooToday news release. Joining the existing website player, there are now Apple iOS and Android/Google Play applications to stream the stations with, while all 5 are now among the internet radio stations listed on iTunes' own internet radio service and through the Apple TV digital media player. There are also widgets on both SooToday and Local2's home pages that list what's playing on all 5 feeds at the time of page visit (from my experience, they don't refresh unless you refresh the whole page), but it's great for extra convenience to listen! VM Radio also announced that they're now the exclusive music provider for the Mill Market and the Soo's Downtown Association, among future establishments to be announced.

VM Radio has also indicated that they want to expand into additional Northern Ontario markets with "increased specialty programming & content", though they didn't elaborate on that or potential on-air shows and genre blocks. They are definitely still looking for local CDs and music to add to the rotation on their five stations (VM Rocks for rock subgenres, VM Bounce for pop & rap, VM Indie for indie/alternative, VM Roots for roots/blues, and VM Y'All for country), so if you're interested in helping the cause, message the stations at radio@villagemedia.ca A.S.A.P.! In terms of my experience listening to the stations, I do like the full final look to the player and website, with all I'd change being maybe putting album covers up, or listing what's next to play on each station. Just since I started this post, I've heard a wide array on VM Rocks including Woods of Ypres, The Drive By Truckers, Green Day, The Police, and Led Zeppelin, and like in the pilot launch, you have a lot of Canadian content to take in, with few ads!

The online player works fine for me with no hang-ups that it started, but if you're hoping for a review of the mobile applications, I can't help you yet. The Android application isn't compatible with my tablet, and every time I tried to open VM Radio with my iPod Touch, it crashed (but to be fair, it's 5 years old now, so my iPod might be too old in general.) The above SooToday press release did note that "more listening options" will follow, so if the stations turn up on TuneIn Radio or something similar, then I can comment on the mobile experience! So far, I do give VM Radio (and VM Rocks in particular) a solid thumbs up, and it's nice to have the extra diversity in the local radio market! I will note that there was some online comment concerning both Energy Rock Radio and Mike Cliffe's Audiofumes preceding VM Radio in this area for Sault Ontario online radio, and while I like both a lot, E.R.R. moved to British Columbia in 2011, and Audiofumes is a podcast rather than a 24/7 radio station.

Be sure to listen to VM Radio's five online stations at the above links or through your Apple and Android devices, like VM Radio on Facebook, and when we have updates concerning the stations, their programming, or future availability, we'll let you know!

We'll close today's post with one more Village Media note, as the newest episode of Local2's music video profile web-series Tuned With Donna Hopper went online on Tuesday, and at last, this is the episode featuring last month's Rad Zone 30th anniversary concert featuring The Ripcordz at The Rockstar Bar! I wonder what took so long to get this episode online? The 18 minute+ episode features Donna's introductory segments hosted in The Rad Zone (naturally), while the concert footage begins with 4 minutes of video from The Ripcordz' set (including Jack Spades' J.D. Pearce joining in on "X"), before transitioning to interview clips with Ripcordz frontman Paul Gott and Rad Zone owner Paul "Monk" Muncaster. When interviewing Paul Gott, he talks about his views on being a "rockstar", how he got into punk music, what should change in the industry to help rising punk bands, and where to find new Ripcordz CDs, while the interview with Monk includes his surprising music past, and the impact of vinyl records and his connections with the music & this format.

Later elaborating on how The Rad Zone has grown in the past 30 years, his planned retirement in 10 years, the continued impact he gets from people who discover new music at the store, and his advice for vinyl collectors, Monk's interview is very nice, and you can tell how much he loves the music and what's he able to do and provide for our area (and Paul Gott's interview is also an informative listen!) After a brief concert calendar segment, the episode concludes with some more nicely shot video footage from last month's Gob concert at the same venue, and bloopers during the credits, though there's no footage of the opening bands at either show. Still, this is a great and extensive episode of Tuned with lots of quality concert & interview footage, so give it a look at this link! Remember, Local2's video host doesn't allow external embedding. That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes over the coming week! Thanks everyone!

Gob Concert Review!!

Hey guys, it's time for our first of three concert reviews from our run of three SMS-covered Halloween season concerts in three days (with Archelon to come TONIGHT and Frightlight TOMORROW), but be sure to check out our previews of most of this weekend's remaining Sault Ontario concerts in the post below this one! As expected, last night saw Gob and three local bands rock out to a packed house at The Rockstar Bar (definitely one of the best crowds I've seen there), and yes, there were still plenty of Halloween decorations around the bar! Now, to the bands!
 

Opening last night's show was local punk trio Redundant in the first concert appearance of the fall, and they were up to their usual tricks! Blending covers from bands like Green Day, Weezer, and even the likes of John Denver and Eminem, plus originals like "That December", the guys made the most of their set with plenty of entertaining songs and a lot of unfiltered and amusing banter, even introducing members for the first time on stage! Though the guys kept to their punk attitude and liveliness, a moment of poignancy came before "Molly's Lips" when frontman Justin Langlois offered a toast to his late best friend, Woods of Ypres frontman David Gold, as their first punk show was seeing Gob at Club Princess in the 1990s, and they had vowed to see Gob together again. Nice moment, I know how hard David's passing hit him, but I bet he'd be proud! Also joined for a late set cover of The Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bob" by Jack Spades' J.D. Pearce, it was good seeing Redundant again, and hopefully we get more punk action soon!

Next up was local indie/punk quintet Northwest (replacing Oakville punk band Seaway), who unveiled a surprise lineup change last night, as they've enlisted Marc Santos (ex-A Fall From Innocence, Fuller) as their new drummer, replacing Clint Wilson. Frontman Wayne Watkins told me that Clint left amicably due to his own busy personal schedule, and if there was any doubt to that, Clint joined the guys to sing chorus vocals on "I Got You", which was cool, and best of luck to him in other projects! Northwest's short half hour set included all 4 songs from their new digital EP plus two non-EP originals ("Hangover Habits" & "Drinking Games"), and given that this was my first time seeing them outside of a battle of the bands, I can say that they seemed looser and more energetic this time around! Marc's a solid fit on drums, and the triple guitar attack from Wayne, Greg Callaghan, and Mike Yakasovich didn't seem like overkill! Solid sound that will appeal to fans of members' older bands, and apologies to Mike Smykacz on the lack of great pictures, I was stuck where I was!

Last among the local bands last night was local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades in what personal Facebook posts were hinting would be their last concert set of the year,  so it's a good thing that the guys delivered a solid set of originals and covers to leave us wanting more! Their nine song set included all 5 songs from their EP "The First" plus their newer songs "Crossroads" and "Motorwolf" and Misfits & SNFU covers (with Northwest's Greg Callaghan joining in for guest vocals on "Drunk on a Bike"), and even with "Frederick" dropped from the set, all was well! Though J.D. and guitarist Jesse Cook dropped their masquerade mask and Link wig early, the Halloween spirit radiated throughout their set, including with Tiffany Stocco's skeleton dress! Solid and hard hitting punk & metal, with Justin Lam shining on bass as usual, and J.D.'s vocals soaring at their heights, so hopefully the guys make the most of their end-of-2014 break, and don't miss Frightlight tomorrow!

And of course, your headliners last night were Langley, B.C. punk veterans Gob in their first local appearance since headlining at The Outback almost 6 years ago, and they definitely left it all on stage for their return! This was one of the most densely packed crowds I've ever been in at a local concert (definitely #1 for The Rockstar Bar), but moshpits still made their mark, with someone's beer even hitting me dead in my left eye during "Oh! Ellin". In other words, this was a great punk crowd, and they ate up every song, from classics like "Soda", "For The Moment", and "Ming Tran" to songs from their new CD "Apt. 13" like "Cold" & "Radio Hell", and you can tell the guys were happy to be back in the Soo! Singer/guitarists Tom Thacker and Theo Goutzinakis commanded things nicely with solid punk riffs and rhythms, and Steven Fairweather's bass held up well also amids the punk chaos! After being stuck in line for a drink for most of Gob's set in 2009, it's great to see them as intended last night, and hopefully they're back far sooner next time!

Great concert overall, and it's nice to hit more of a straightforward non-hardcore punk show for a change, hopefully we get more in the coming months! Kudos to J.D. for bringing Gob in again, and remember to go see him and Rick from Redundant with Frightlight TOMORROW NIGHT downstairs at The Algonquin, plus James White with Haggith TONIGHT at The Oddfellows Hall! SooToday's Donna Hopper was on hand for at least part of the night, so hopefully some photos turn up there in the coming days, and as for our photos, you can check them out at this link or at our Facebook page! Lastly, here's our videos, so here's Redundant covering Rise Against's "Swing Life Away" & Operation Ivy's "Knowledge". Northwest playing "Young, Wild, and Hopeless", Jack Spades playing "Crossorads", and Gob playing "Oh! Ellin"! (Each video works, double click on the black box twice!)

Redundant - Swing Life Away & Knowledge

Northwest - Young, Wild, and Hopeless

Jack Spades - Crossroads

 Gob - Oh! Ellin

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our last of the Halloween weekend concert previews tomorrow morning, and we'll see you guys at The Oddfellows Hall TODAY (in a couple of hours, as a matter of fact) for Devil's Night with Archelon, Haggith, and much more! Thanks everyone!

Gob & Archelon Concert Previews, Plus More Recent Updates!!

The Halloween weekend is creeping up ever closer, so let's kick off our previews of the seasonal punk and metal action with previews of two big pre-Friday shows! We'll likely have three Halloween weekend concert preview posts, with one for Sault Ontario shows from Friday-Saturday, and another for Sault Michigan in general, with The Brains show on Sunday also very much in mind for wherever it can fit, not to mention possible late notice events. Along with some assorted recent items, here's what you should know for our first of the Halloween previews!

One of the biggest punk concerts of the year goes down TONIGHT, when Langley, B.C. punk veterans Gob make their long awaited return to the Soo at The Rockstar Bar! The Juno nominees were last seen here when they headlined at the former Outback in January 2009, so it's been a long time coming for fans of their classic songs like "Soda" and "I Hear You Calling", and you won't want to miss the punk rock energy and enthusiasm like only they can bring TONIGHT! Also, for you Sum 41 fans, keep in mind that guitarist Tom Thacker is Gob's frontman. Unlike in 2009, local punk bands will open for Gob tonight, and they include local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades (in what personal Facebook postings are hyping as their last set of the year), newer local indie/punk quintet Northwest (in their first set since the release of their self-titled digital EP), and local punk trio Redundant (in their first public concert of the fall), so all should be great fits to open for Gob tonight! Remember, Oakville punk band Seaway are not playing tonight (they were only on eastern Canada dates, the Soo not being among them), so Northwest were added last month to replace them.

Promoted by Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce, admission for tonight's show is $20 in advance and apparently at the door too (a higher door charge isn't publicized), but if you pay $25, you'll get a copy of Gob's new CD "Apt. 13" upon entry, so keep that deal in mind! If you wanted to get your tickets online, you can also buy them at http://www.brownpapertickets.com. This is a 19+ concert, and everything starts TONIGHT at 9:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! An almost 6 year wait for a new Gob concert in the Soo is too long, so I hope to see you guys there TONIGHT, and here's Gob live in Toronto in 2012!

Also on the Halloween concert schedule is the second annual Devil's Night concert at The Oddfellows Hall TOMORROW NIGHT! After last year's October 30th concert helped launch promoter Tyler St. Amour's promotion agency Heavy North Entertainment, he's going bigger and better for it's encore tomorrow, with H.N.E. (in association with Blood Shed Productions) hosting twelve different acts at The Oddfellows Hall, so who all is playing? The announced headlining band is Sudbury groove metal quintet Archelon in their local debut, and they should brutalize fans tomorrow, but they actually aren't the last act on the bill. The 1:00 AM slot actually belongs to local experimental musician Chase Wigmore, who will be making his long awaited return to the stage after a 5 month work hiatus, so welcome Chase back home by checking out his creative originals at night's end! Archelon will instead be second last at 12:00 AM.

As for the rest of the lineup, local grunge/alternative quartet Haggith will play before them at 11:00 PM (in their first Oddfellows set with their current lineup), while the rest of the bands have shorter half hour timeslots each. Local goregrind solo project Crucify The Whore will take the stage for their own brutal originals at 10:00 PM, while local cover metal rockers Project 421 will play their first set since the departure of singer Curtis McKenzie at 9:15 PM, but will Blair handle lead vocals, or is there a surprise in store? The aforementioned Chase Wigmore's grind duo project This Is Your Band On Drugs will also return to the stage for a set at 8:30 PM, while Blood Shed Productions goregrind duo Rotopsy will hit the stage at 7:45 PM, and local doom/punk trio The Revolution (formerly the second Brutaly Fatal) will rock out at 7:00 PM. Also, former Strange Coyotes bassist James Watterworth (credited under his Delusionair Lionhair alias) will kick off the rock band portion of the day at 6:15 PM.

The Devil's Night action will start at 5:00 PM with local rappers (a first for a Heavy North Entertainment show), with Blood Shed-affiliated rappers Phat Boii, Miracle Man, and Mikey Thomas splitting an hour to start the show, so if you want some hip-hop, be there early! Admission will be $5 in advance (through promoters) or $7 at the door tomorrow night, this is absolutely ALL AGES, and visit the official Facebook event page for more details! This is a stacked lineup to be sure, and fans of last year's Devil's Night show will like the familiarity (all official performers but The Bear Hunters and Crimson Crusade are back), so again, I hope to see you guys there TOMORROW! For a preview, here's Archelon live in Spanish!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

• In a neat surprise announcement, local death metal band The Bear Hunters have revealed that their CD release show at The Canadian Nightclub on November 29th will be ALL AGES! The news was revealed on the Facebook event page on Monday. No word on if the possibility of no age limits was a factor in moving the event from The Algonquin, but this is great for all Bear Hunters fans, so don't miss the show and CD release next month!
• I've again deleted Strongs, Michigan metal project East Branch from our band links, due to the deletion of their Facebook (and only online) page. The Werehold Records-affiliated project was active as recently as June's Friday the 13th song posting event, but activity has been quiet since. Hopefully they reemerge at some point, perhaps on Friday, February 13th?
• I've changed the link for defunct local/Grand Rapids metal band End of Existence from their Reverbnation page (which has since been deleted) to their Facebook page, which is still used to promote drummer Greg Giles' solo company Giles Arts. I wish they wouldn't have deleted and privatized so many of their online links, but at least Facebook's still active!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more Halloween concert previews in the coming days, and we'll see you guys at The Rockstar Bar TONIGHT for Gob! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Gob, Endast, And K'Man & The 45s), And More!!

In our second post of this Thursday, we have THREE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, all revolving around notable out of town bands coming back to our area to rock the Soo to it's core, and whether you love metal or punk, at least one of these shows should appeal to you! We also have some assorted other notes to cap this post (including a band name change), so read on below for what you need to know, with the shows outlined in chronological order! Also, check out this weekend's Sault Ontario concert previews in the post below this one!

Remember how local concert promoter J.D. Pearce has been teasing a concert on Wednesday, August 27th to be headlined by Montreal thrashcore quintet Endast? Well, it's now confirmed, though he's not visibly the show's promoter anymore, with Bear Hunters guitarist Mitch Sirie launching this Facebook event page for it yesterday, so what do we know now? Well, the concert will take place at The Rednecks Saloon, who recently hosted a Bear Hunters-headlined metal show, and have a good relationship with Mitch through his recent work with Beaumont Avenue and Urawk, so the old Nicolet Tavern is a better fit than you may think! Of course, Endast's brutal technical metal originals have been missed since they last played in the Soo (way back in 2010 at the former Foggy Notions), and it will be awesome to see them back on the local stage again after so long during their 10th anniversary tour! There will also be two local opening bands to be announced, and we'll let you know when they're confirmed. Note as well that I think this will be the first local metal show with an out of town headliner that Mitch has put on since the end of his regular promotion run in mid-2012, so it's great to see him back promoting shows like this again!

Also, note that Endast's own Facebook page hypes their show on the 27th as taking place at The Townehouse in Sudbury, but that venue's own website lists a different band that day, so I assume there was a scheduling mixup. Admission is FREE for this 19+ show, and there's an announced 10:30 PM start time. For more details, check the above links! We await the full lineup announcement, but Endast were fan favourites from their last local stops, and hopefully they're in fine heavy form on August 27th at The Rednecks Saloon! Stay tuned for updates!

Next up, remember how we noted on the site the other day that the aforementioned J.D. Pearce was planning to host an after-party at The Rockstar Bar for after the now-postponed Misfits concert on Tuesday, September 18th? Well, the after-party is still on as it's own standalone concert now, and like before, it will be headlined by Montreal ska punk quintet K'Man & The 45s! Last seen at the former Roosevelt Hotel in October, this energetic and fun band are well known for the ska renditions of The Ramones, and for their array of original material too, and you'll definitely want to check out their well-traveled and liked sound at The Rockstar Bar next month! Like in October, their opening band next month will be local all-female hard rock quartet The Danger Cats in their first announced show since opening for Late & Loud at the same venue, and if their entertaining live attack got them this high profile slot last fall when they were brand new, imagine how they'll perform this time around! Also like at last year's show, there will be a $7 door charge and 19+ age limit, while everything will start at around 9:30 PM.

For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Ska punk isn't something we've had a ton of locally in recent months, so if you're up for some reggae infused high energy rock (with Ramones covers!), you won't want to miss this show on September 18th, and if you're still bummed about The Misfits' show, this might help fill in the gap! Keep an eye out for more!

Lastly for the new show announcements, but certainly not least, Juno nominated Langley, B.C. punk quartet Gob will make their long awaited return to Sault Ontario themselves on Wednesday, October 29th when they themselves headline at The Rockstar Bar! Last seen at the former Outback at Sault College way back in January 2009, fans will surely remember Gob for classic songs like "I Hear You Calling", "Give Up The Grudge", and "Soda", and their own high spirited pop punk sound has earned them a very strong following of their own over the past 20 years, so it's well overdue for them to play the Soo again (also, note that frontman Tom Thacker is Sum 41's guitarist, in case you're a fan of theirs too!) Joining Gob on tour and at this show will be Oakville pop punk band Seaway, whose own energetic & melodic sound should add well to the proceedings as well, so check them out to see what you think! The local openers will include local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades (fresh off of opening for The Ripcordz in early October) and local punk trio Redundant (in their first announced gig since last month's Bear Hunters show), so come early for them also!

Promoted again by Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce, this show is a 19+ affair, will start at 9:00 PM, and has a ticket cost of $20 ($25 if you want a copy of Gob's new CD "Apt. 13" with admission.) Online tickets go on sale at http://www.brownpapertickets.com starting at midnight, and there's only 150 available, so act A.S.A.P. to ensure you have your ticket! No word yet though concerning local in-person ticket availability. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's been over 5 years, but it's great to see Gob coming back to town, and hopefully there's a great turnout for this show, right in the thick of the Halloween season! Stay tuned for updates on this show as well, and get your tickets before they're gone!

Finally for today, here's three shorter assorted news items from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• In advance of their second return home to play at the private Das Bunkerfest event in Garden River on Sunday (which we'll mention on the site tomorrow), local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver will be among the performers at TONIGHT'S Endast concert in North Bay, which will also feature recent local metal performers Buried Out Back. Pretty cool, so give it a look if you're in that area, and hopefully the guys make some new fans!
• The Sault Michigan alternative hard rock trio formerly known as Plastic have settled on a new name, as they've quietly announced The Spendthrifts as their new moniker. A reason for the change still hasn't been announced, but with a recent bassist change and the common simplicity of the Plastic name, this might have been a good fresh start. Other than the name change, there's been no public band updates in over a month, so we'll let you know when more comes out from The Spendthrifts!
• The newest episode of Local2's music spotlight video series Tuned with Donna Hopper went up on Monday, and while it mostly focuses on non-metal/punk events like the recent Strumbellas show and the Northern Lights Festival Boreal in Sudbury, it does plug the upcoming Random Killing "Hardcore Homecoming" show on September 13th at The Rockstar Bar in the concert calendar segment, while a 5 second clip of Beaumont Avenue's set (their last as The Suicide Kings) at Musicfest XXI can be seen at the end of their segment. Solid episode, give it a look if you want above!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for Sault Michigan concert previews and some notes on Das Bunkerfest tomorrow! Thanks everyone!